


thawing

by moonlitserenades



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Gen, Hospitals, Missing Scene, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 09:56:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6190228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlitserenades/pseuds/moonlitserenades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>**SPOILERS for the end of Winter**</p>
<p>Jacin visits Cress in the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	thawing

Two sharp knocks at the door startled Cress so badly that she nearly fell out of bed. “Come in,” she gasped, massaging her abdomen–her healing wound screaming in pain where the sudden movement had jolted it.

Jacin stood in the doorway, looking more disheveled than she’d ever seen him. Dark shadows ringed his eyes, and his clothes were mussed. But he held himself as tall and proud as ever, his expression inscrutable but for the tiniest hint of guilt. “I didn’t mean to scare you. How are you feeling?”

“It’s alright. I’m tired, and it hurts, but…I’m glad to be awake.” Breathless, she struggled to sit up straighter. In moments, he was beside her, rearranging and fluffing the stack of pillows behind her so that they propped her up more fully.

“I won’t keep you long. Your body still needs rest. I just wanted to see how you were.”

Touched, she grinned at him. “Thank you for coming. It’s…good to see you. How–how is everyone?”

The slightest of shadows crossed his face, and her heart squeezed painfully. Still, when he answered, his voice was wry, almost amused. Almost. “Well, none of us have been arrested, and Levana’s dead, so. It’s safe to say we won.”

Cress gasped and then coughed, wheezing in pain as her hand pressed harder against the pile of bandages. Putting pressure on it seemed, somehow, to ease some of the pain. “Levana’s dead?” she managed.

“Yes.” Patiently, Jacin poured her a glass of water from the little glass pitcher on the nightstand and pressed it into her hand. “Cinder shot her. She’s awake and recovering, too, but it was…close, for a while.” He pulled a chair close to her bed and sat, still straight-backed.

“And–and everyone else?”

His jaw clenched. “As well as can be expected. Kai and Iko are with Cinder as often as they can be. Scarlet’s concussion is healed, and Wolf is fine. They wrapped Thorne’s hand. I’m not sure where he is right now, but last I knew, he was acting like his normal self.”

She tried to force a laugh, even though the thought of Thorne made her heart flutter and jump into her throat. Stars, she’d _shot_ him. She wanted to see him so badly it was its own type of pain; and yet, she was terrified of what might happen when she did.

But she snapped back to attention when she realized that there was still a name missing.

“And Winter?”

He didn’t meet her gaze. “She’s awake.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, gently.

“She’s better than she was.” He examined the floor studiously. “There was a while where she…didn’t recognize anyone.”

Cress’s heart ached for him. Any show of emotion from Jacin was rare, and it almost seemed like he might cry. “But there have been improvements?”

“Yes.” This time, his smile was soft around the edges, in a way it only ever was when he was thinking about Winter. “Well enough to tell me to get out for a while and get some sleep.”

“Funny, but that doesn’t look like what you’re doing.”

“I heard you were awake,” he said, as though this was obvious, and she immediately felt guilty for teasing him. But then, with the slightest of mischievous smirks, he added, “You’ve looked better, you know.”

She pulled a mock-offended face, some small part of her quietly marveling over the fact that she could be comfortable with anyone–-much less Jacin-–to have this moment with them. “Says the man who looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks.”

He shrugged, an uncharacteristically casual move. “I wanted to be here when she was herself again. However long that might take.”

“And she’s getting there?”

“Yes.” He smiled again, though this time there was an edge of sadness. “They say there’s almost no chance she’ll ever be really well, but at least now…” He broke off, shook his head a little. “She’s better.”

“Good.” Cress smiled back at him. “And you were there?”

He nodded, and-–was he _blushing?_ Cress was still too hazy from pain medication to have the energy to stop herself from asking. He glared at her, but the color in his cheeks deepened. “No.”

“You are!” she crowed, wincing when her excitement made her abdomen twinge again. “Did you tell her how you felt about her?”

“How I _what?_ ”

“Jacin, come on. It’s obvious.” She grinned. “So, did you?”

“Mind your business,” he snapped, but there was a glimmer in her eye that indicated that he wasn’t actually mad.

“You _did!_ ”

“Stars, will you drop it?“

“I was just saying,” she said, pushing a string of hair out of her eyes. “It wouldn’t kill you to let yourself have something nice for once.”

Jacin lifted an eyebrow. “Duly noted.” But then he grinned, just a little. "Before I go, do you need anything? Maybe I’ll see if Thorne is awake.”

Cress made a face, flushing, but felt rather like she’d had that coming to her. She opened her mouth to ask if Thorne had said anything about her, thought better of it (what did she want the answer to be?) and snapped it shut again.

Jacin smirked. “He wouldn’t shut up about you. It didn’t seem to matter how many times I told him I didn’t know how you were.”

“Oh, stars.” She covered her eyes. “But I _shot_ him.”

“And he stabbed you.” Jacin raised his eyebrows. “He seemed proud of you, actually.”

She peered at him through her fingers. “You’re joking.”

“Not remotely.” He stood up. “I’ll let you rest.” He ruffled her hair, an unexpectedly familiar gesture, and strolled out.

Cress leaned back, closed her eyes, and smiled.


End file.
